karyn brown

Hi everyone,

Still at the stage where we want to go ahead and submit our visa application, but like everyone we have concerns in the back of our minds, which I thought I would share with you so that you could maybe help with some of the answers. Why do we all think Australia is any better and that our lives will improve with the move, is the cost of living cheaper, and are the salaries better? Yes we would be moving to a better climate, sunshine all year round, but don't you just love those nice crisp winter days - well I do anyway. Today in Belfast the sun is shining and things look nicer, people are happier, kids out playing and it would be great to have this all year round, but things are good here to (if only I could move all of this to Australia) - we live in a small village (which we won't get in Australia) everyone knows everyone and you feel you belong, we have a good family, a nice house, kids go to a nice school and have lots of friends. Is the upheaval of this going to be worth it and you have to start again with everything - I reckon it will take a good year if not longer to settle - is it worth taking the gamble and missing your family? I have never been to Australia before but have always wanted to do this as people always make it sound better than home.

Yours thoughts on this would be most appreciated.

Karyn & Rod

james2300

Hi,
I think you sound very happy where you are. People who emigrate look for what you seem to already have. You need to weigh up the pros and cons for both options. In my situation I'm counting down the days, i've personally had enough of South London and don't have any attachments in terms of property or children.
Whatever you do, I wish you the best of luck.
James

Centurion

Its not cheaper here and the salaries and job opportunities are not better on the whole.

So that said, why are you moving that you can't get where you are ?

Sonn

Hiya,
We are in the same kind of position. We really would like to move and experience new things. we have been researching for a while and are about to sort out renting our house out and moving in with the in laws to save up. I have days where i am excited about doing it but then days where i feel guilty for upheaving the children from their family and schools! Its a 50/50 thing, we say lets try it for a year...we can always come back if we dont like it!!!!
Good luck with whatever you deicde!!!!
Sonya

Starlite

In the past, I have always suggested "if in doubt, don't!" but sometimes that may not be the case and i suppose everyone's opinions are different. In my opinion there are alot of reasons why you should reconsider oz. It depends what job you are going to over there depending on how much salary you will be getting. Depends on what part of Australia you will be moving to, and what sort of home life and where you live in the UK.

Personally, it is beneficial for me as i'm a recently qualified midwife and can't find a job within my area due to shortage of employment and they can offer better prospects for myself and family in Australia. I have done quite alot of research on Perth so i know basically enough to decide that is the place where i would like to go. However, i do like where we live in the UK as we live rurally and surrounded by countryside, but we feel we want a change of lifestyle and a new beginning.

I think you just need to weigh up the pro's and con's to help you decide.

Good Luck with your decision

Starlite

bluekipper

Hi, sounds to me your looking for everything you have BUT with sunshine,,, OZ has lots of fabulous things to offer, but its hard work settling in, you feel like a fish out of water at 1st, but for the experience alone can you not rent out your house for maybe a year and go for the experience! and if things go better than expected, you may wat to move out permanently.

atleast you have choices then!

bluekipper

loubiegreen

The world is a very big place, why not give it a go. If things don't work out then you can always come back. Also what an experience for you and your family.

It has to be a decision that only you can come to but I think for my family and me that the UK has different things to offer to Oz and we would like to give the kids the chance to see and live something different to what they have been used to. There will always be a flight back to the UK if we don't settle and at the end of the day it is not the end of the world if things don't work out.

Kind regards to all and good luck to all.

Lou xxx

Sonn

Glad to hear someone feels like we do...Your right.....the UK is only a flight away...Oz maybe the otherside of the world but its not the end of the world!!! If we dont like it we can always come back to the UK.

Australia_bound?

Why fix what isn't broke. Would recommend a nice long holiday in Aus and find out for yourself if it's all it's cracked up to be. Plenty on here will sing the praises of Aus, some take a realistic point of view, some are very negative and lots of threads on moving back to UK forum.
We're in a similar situation to yourself, but know we'll be worse off to start with as mine and OH wages will be lower. But most our family will be in Aus in next 5 years, so don't want to be left behind and having spent time in Aus, we're pretty sure we could make it work.
Final point, not sure why grass is greener can be aimed at Aus as most of the year it's all dirty brown and looks dead. Think I'll find myself missing hedgerows to name but one thing from the UK

Australia_bound?

Your post makes it sound so easy to move back, less several thousands of pounds and possibly no job/home to come back to? Think there's something to be said for appreciating what you have and not always chasing rainbows!

Sonn

Hmmmm...im not saying it would be easy or cheap to move back but it is always an option. I wouldnt say 'chasing rainbows', i would say 'following a dream'. It would be hard and expensive to move back having used all money to set up in Oz but its always here to come back to if needs be.

Australia_bound?

Is it OP's dream or what they've conceived as the truth? Can't say with any certainty that Aus has higher wages and lower costs than UK? Better weather yes, but isn't what it's cracked up to be, was a time a few years ago where living standards were better, but it's changed a lot in last 5 to 10 years!
I know of 3 users on here who've been stuck in Aus for over 2 years saving up to move back to uncertain futures, so not always as easy as it's made out to be!

Sonn

What does OP's mean????
Thanks for your advice, its good to hear the good and bad side of things.

Ms_Fi

I love Australia, my partner is Australian and all her family is out there so it's an obvious destination for us.

Apart from family I don't have any ties to the UK - I'm a student at the moment so don't have to worry about leaving a job and the family is so spread across the country that we really only communicate by email and phone so that won't really change.

I'm not naive about the move - I know it's going to be hard work out there and that there will be times when I wonder just wth have we done but I can't see myself living anywhere else.

I love the area we're moving to because I've been there, spent extended holidays there so know what to expect. I know the shops and the road systems, which pubs to avoid and what night is the best night to go to the bowling club (!). I also know which areas we don't want to live in and where the local public transport links are. I've also sat in the back yard watching the thermometer go over 50C and fallen in love with airconditioning! The only thing I haven't yet experienced is when the area floods but that'll happen in time.

I've constantly moved around the UK and often moved places where I didn't know a sole and had never been to before but wouldn't ever consider moving to a strange country I had never visited. In many ways Australia is just like England but it's also sooo very different. Personally I'd be looking at taking an extended visit to the area you're considering moving to before you commit to emigrating. On paper I shouldn't like the area we're moving to but it suits me down to the ground.

Sonn - OP stands for Original Poster (the poster who started the thread)

Australia_bound?

Original poster.

Feel the need to contribute when people appear to have high expectations. Aus is a great place, but isn't for everyone and it's a stroll in the park moving to other side of the world, away from everything that is familiar and in a few occasions to somewhere people have never set foot, only seen it on tele .
We're lucky to have lots of family in Aus and have been there so got a good idea what to expect (got my Gran over to UK soon so will be getting more updates). But still it's a gamble, for some it pays off big time, others they match what they've left, some end up financially worse off but have more quality time and I'm afraid for some it just doesn't work for whatever reason
Hopefully people who consider Aus as an option will do loads of research to know the possible outcomes!